PHOTO OF THE MONTH:

Photo gallery of pictures from our ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND adventure vacation
Iguana Jan 2010
Travelling on two wheels is a great way to meet the locals and slow down to smell the coffee.

MEET OUR GUIDES:

ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND adventure travel guide
Yohn Grajeda
"I don't think there are enough words to describe how much we appreciate Yohn. Active is so lucky to have a guide like him. He took such great care of us and always made sure that we wanted nothing. On top of that, we have acquired a great friend and someone who will always be welcome in our homes when he comes to see us in the US. Yohn was always up for the task and always enthusiastic. He made our trip was it was and it was definitely awesome!"
Stacy Rothenberg (Aspen,Colorado,United States) Nov 2008 Jaguar
News Clips and Reviews
Swimming with sea lions
by Bernie Lovejoy

GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS, Ecuador — Would you like to swim with sea lions? Sounds interesting. But what if I added, 'And the sea lions will swim with you!' This was exactly our experience when my wife, Francoise, and I tried an adventure (not a vacation) in the Galápagos Islands. It began with sea lion babies checking us out while teething on the mooring lines of our boat and went on to lengthy water ballets with playful 'teenagers' joining divers and snorkelers in dives, twists and pirouettes in crystal-clear water. After a week full of challenges and thrills, we still had no trouble choosing this as the high point of our trip. Read more...

swimming with seals in the Galapagos Islands
"My favourite parts? The private beach on San Cristobal, kayaking and swimming with sea lions, Sierra Negra volcano, Shark Alley - way cool. Wonderful experience - the scenery, the animals, the nature, and the culture: WOW! Nice, small, intimate adventure."

Kelly Findley (Wisconsin, USA) Feb 5 2006 Tortuga
ACCOMMODATION:
The Tortuga is an active, adventure-oriented trip around the Galapagos Islands, not a tour of the fanciest hotels! We stay in clean, comfortable and interesting accommodation and, unlike many other operators, we prefer to stay on the mainland rather than on live-aboard boats. This means we’re closer to the local communities and have more opportunities to hike and cycle as well as snorkel and dive. Many of the places we stay are off-the-beaten-track and truly spectacular. For instance, Isabela Island isn’t known for its glamorous lodgings, but has stunning beaches, an abundance of wildlife, off-the-beaten-track flavour and rustic charm. We've chosen accommodations for their comfort and cleanliness – not the number of channels available on the television!

RECOMMENDED FLIGHTS:
You can fly into Quito any time on the first day of your trip, but we recommend you arrive before noon. On the last day of your trip you can fly out at any time. If you want to arrive earlier or leave later, we’re happy to help you out with extra hotel accommodation.

TRIP START:
If you arrive on the first day of the trip, an ACTIVE SOUTH AMERICA representative will meet you at the airport at 2pm and take you to your accommodation. If you’re already in Quito, you’ll meet your trip leader and the rest of your group in the lobby of the Hotel Reina Isabel at 6pm.

TRIP END:
You’ll wake up in Quito on the last day of your trip, so you can book a flight home departing any time that day – we’ll be happy to drop you off at the airport any time before noon.

FITNESS:
You need a reasonable level of fitness to enjoy yourself on the Tortuga. You don't have to be young and extremely fit (although if you are, you won't be bored) but you should be in the habit of doing at least some exercise. Age and experience are not important. We've designed our trips to be as challenging as you want them to be. It's your vacation after all!

EXPERIENCE:
You don't have to have any outdoor experience to do one of our trips. We offer trips that enable you to make the most of South America's awesome outdoor environment, culture and history. Our trip leaders are highly trained and very experienced outdoor guides, and they'll look after you! You don't need any experience in snorkelling or biking on the Tortuga. All you need is to be energetic and in reasonable shape – and we guarantee you'll have a wonderful time. On the other hand if you like a challenge we will certainly give you one! We can offer activities to suit both people who only do a little exercise, as well as those who have a very high level of fitness and experience, in all our activities. We manage the level of commitment to suit your experience, and we have an impeccable safety record.

DIVING IN THE GALAPAGOS:
Kicker Rock is one of the most interesting dive spots in the world. Our dive guides are all highly qualified with years of dive experience. If you’re a diver and would like to dive on the trip, there is an additional fee of US$160 for two dives and a safety dive, including all the necessary gear. PLEASE NOTE: Due to strong currents, the Galapagos is not a destination for novice divers. We recommend you have logged at least 10-20 dives before diving here and you must bring your PADI or SSI certification to dive.

FLEXIBILITY:
Galapagos National Park is a fragile wildlife refuge and as such is sometimes subject to sudden rule changes to control potential damage through tourism. We may occasionally need to make itinerary changes in response to this. The Galapagos Islands are in a developing part of the world and we can’t tell you that everything runs like clockwork in South America. What we can tell you is that we are experienced adventure travel leaders, and our Galapagos operator is a local specialist who knows how to keep things operating as smoothly as possible, even when conditions are challenging! Often, because of changing sea conditions, we may have to make small changes to our itinerary for safety reasons. If you bring flexibility, an open mind and a sense of humour you’ll find your trip is every adventure it’s designed to be.

INCLUDED:
The trip fare is US$2999. The trip fare includes just about everything, specifically:
• All guiding services. We always have an experienced trip leader with every trip and will have a local guide on many of our excursions for extra local knowledge.
• All ground and air transportation during your trip.
• Comfortable accommodation for your entire trip. We can also book pre- and post-trip accommodation for you if required.
• All your meals, except for two dinners (on Friday on San Cristobal and on Monday on Isabela Island), where we’ve found most people like to check out the local restaurants on their own.
• All drinking water. Alcohol and other drinks are not included.
• All snorkelling, hiking and biking as described in the itinerary, excluding optional activities, such as scuba diving. None of the activities are compulsory, if you prefer to sit some of them out and just have a ‘down day’ hanging out with a book and a hammock, then that’s fine by us. This is your vacation after all!
• Tips for local activity guides, drivers and boat captains are taken care of by us.

NOT INCLUDED:
The Ecuadorian Government charges every person who enters the Galapagos Islands a US$100 park entrance fee. You’ll be asked to pay this when you arrive to the airport in Galapagos. INGALA, the coordinating body of Galapagos, also charges a $10 Transit Control Fee, which is paid through the airline as you check in at Quito airport. Everything else is included in your trip fare. This is your holiday, and we are serious about not nickel-and-diming you! You’ll have a couple of meals and drinks to cover, extra activities if you choose them, and you’ll probably feel like tipping your guides at the end of a fabulous time, but you won’t be pulling out your wallet every few minutes on your ACTIVE SOUTH AMERICA trip!

GEAR LIST:
Click here to see a copy of the Tortuga Gear List

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